Eternal Legends: Dragonborn
by QueenPersephoneofHades
Summary: A simple mission becomes a nightmare when Klarion sends the Team's two human members to a different world; Tamriel, in the land of Skyrim. As the two fight for their very survival and search for a way home, things become a bit more complicated when it turns out they could be something a little more than human... Reboot of original story.


**A/N: To all of the fans who've been waiting for this since I started the rewrite; I am terribly sorry for taking so very long with this, but as we all know, Life has a certain way of butting in on what we're working on. I had probably one of the worst cases of writer's block for the longest time for this story, and I've only very recently gotten through it. You can thank Dan Bull's Epic Skyrim Rap on YouTube for making me finally get my butt moving. Look it up. It's hilarious.**

** To new fans who are looking at this story for the first time: Welcome! I hope you enjoy the duo's journey through Skyrim, and my journey through madness as I force myself to work on this as much as possible before writer's block hits me again!**

** By the way:**

"Normal talking."  
'_Thoughts._'  
"_Telepathy._"  
"_**Spells/Shouts.**_"

** Anyway, now we get down to business…**

**YJ~S**

This mission was supposed to be easy. They always started out that way, it seemed, but to Artemis, something about this one was different from all the other missions-gone-wrong; it was just too abrupt, too odd, and definitely out of character for Klarion.

Klarion the Witch Boy, Lord of Chaos and Lover of Mayhem, certainly did enjoy causing destruction and pain in great amounts, but he never did so out of the blue unless he made a deal with someone. Despite what anyone said to the contrary, he was smarter than that; ever since Doctor Fate had returned to the world permanently and joined the Justice League in place of Zatara, Klarion hadn't been seen once except for the incident on New Year's Eve. That had been seven months ago, so when he had suddenly appeared in Salem, Massachusetts, it had been enough to send the League on red alert.

However, because the demented immortal didn't seem to actually be attacking the town, the League had been unable to really interfere with whatever his business there was without risking an all-out battle above the city, which was the last thing they needed.

So, the League had called in the Team to do what needed to be done and look into the Witch Boy's actions.

They had flown there in the bio-ship as normal, with the stealthiest of the group – Robin, Artemis, and Aqualad – and their magic expert Zatanna heading down to see what Klarion was up to in the city.

Dressed in civvies while on a mission was basically the equivalent of being naked in front of an audience in Artemis's opinion, but there was no way they could've headed down in uniform unless they wanted to get caught and fried immediately upon being noticed.

Luckily, Artemis had been able to find a way to fit her small back-up crossbow along with about three dozen steel bolts in the purse she'd added to her disguise without making the purse look misshaped or lumpy. This actually wasn't as surprising as it could've been, as she'd received the purse from Robin – "You never know what sort of disguise you could need at a moment's notice." Wally had teased him for the insinuation that he might have dressed as a girl for a disguise once, but the bird had easily countered that he been carrying the purse because Batgirl – Gotham's newest and most talked-about vigilante – despised them and often forgot to bring one for a disguise.

They finished with their 'normal civilian' looks quickly – Artemis wore a stereotypical shopper girl outfit, looking like any girl you'd normally see at the mall or wandering the shopping district; Robin, with his signature sunglasses on his face, had chosen something that might've made him look like a biker if he were older than fourteen, it was strangely inconspicuous, though this might've been more due to the bird's ability to fade into the background in a moment's notice; Kaldur looked a bit nerdy with a well-tailored outfit, looking like a quiet nerd heading home from the library after a long day of study; and Zatanna looked more or less like your typical high school freshman, with a stylish yet not eye-catching outfit.

Once ready, the four of them headed out, with Kaldur instructing Miss Martian to link them up mentally and the rest of the Team to remain on the ship in camouflage mode until they were called.

It didn't take long to find the immortal; Klarion wasn't bothering to hide himself. He wore his signature suit, unwrinkled and Victorian-looking as ever. His devil horn hair was no different than usual, and walked with his usual air of arrogance and superiority, a deadly smirk on his face. People skirted around him nervously, skittish and quiet whenever they caught sight of him.

Everything about him was the way it always was when they faced off against each other, except for one thing:

Teekl was nowhere in sight.

The Lord of Chaos never went anywhere without his familiar, his only physical tie to the mortal plane, because if he did Teekl could be hurt and his presence would be forced back into the immortal plane – the 'Fade', as Zatanna once called it – until the cat was healed, which could take some time.

Artemis, from her position outside a rather nice dress shop where she appeared to be window shopping but was rather watching the Witch Boy in the window's reflection, narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the rather obvious lack of their enemies' weakness.

'_Where's the damn cat? I thought he never went anywhere without that thing!_' she voiced her worry to the Team, who were just as bewildered as she at the apparent daring of the Chaos Lord.

_"He shouldn't be able to move around very far without it; a Lord of Chaos or Order cannot move away from their familiar or host for long periods of time or they risk their connection to it weakening. The cat's here somewhere; we just can't see it,_" Zatanna said, only a slight hint of doubt and worry edging into her thoughts.

_"What if he's learned some way to move around without it?_" asked Rocket. As the Team's newest member, she'd only seen Klarion once, and only briefly, during the battle against their mind-controlled mentors on the Watchtower.

Zatanna answered back before anyone else could agree with that train of thought though, "_That's impossible. A Lord of Chaos or Order is a spirit being from the Fade, the realm of immortality and infinite; they cannot enter this plane, the realm of mortality and finite, unless they have a 'mortal point' – basically, a weak point or a pseudo-heart of some sort – to anchor them here. Because nothing immortal can exist in this realm, this mortal point is not simply something that ties them here, but it also serves as their source of life. Their life force is tied directly to the object or animal they choose. While it is easier to use an animal, since you can carry them with you and not have to worry about having to find a host body, this is also the more dangerous option, because you're literally letting your heart walk around in public. Anything could happen to it, which is why we've never seen Klarion go anywhere without it. Klarion would never go out in public, where the Justice League could swoop down on him at any moment, without knowing exactly where Teekl is at all times to ensure his safety."_

"_Ohh-kay, then why is he doing just that? If the cat is his weakness, why is he not keeping an eye on it?_" asked Wally, ever the mystic skeptic, in a tone that was getting closer to sarcastic with each word.

"_No idea. Either he's not looking for a fight – which is hard to believe – or he's hidden Teekl so perfectly we couldn't find him no matter how hard we looked._" Zatanna said, her thoughts becoming slightly murky as her mind drifted with the topic.

"_Heads up people, he's heading into a….. antique store?_" the puzzled report from Robin brought Artemis's attention back to the Witch Boy as he entered what appeared to be an occult antique store.

Raising as eyebrow at the rather cliché name of the shop – Little Shop of Horrors, how _original_ – she walked across the street quickly to stand in front of a shop to its left, trying to look like she was simply a curious bystander, which wasn't too hard because she basically was one.

"_Is there any way for you to get in?_" Kaldur asked her, looking up from the book he'd been pretending to read on a bench at the end of the block.

Artemis inspected the shop window, staring at the little baubles in the front – which looked more like they belonged in a vampire's lair instead of a store – but discretely raised her gaze to see Klarion walking up to the counter, smirking even wider at the clerk's rather obvious fear at his appearance. '_I don't think so; I don't look like the sort of person interested in this stuff, and if I get too close he might recognize me,_' the blonde archer informed them, turning her attention away from the window momentarily to see if there was an alleyway she could slip into to find a back entrance.

"_That's alright, I got it,_" Zatanna said, before murmuring aloud, "_**Namrepus fo srae eht simetra evig!**_"

Artemis flinched as a wave of sound suddenly came rushing into her ears out of nowhere, nearly deafening her and making her clap her hands over her ears in an attempt to block it out. Dimly she was aware of the worried voices of her friends asking her something in her head, but it took several minutes for her to reply, her ears still ringing violently. '_It's…. it's okay, guys. Zee, what the _hell_ was that for?!'_ she demanded, wincing as sounds continued to hit her ears; multiple unknown voices, the purring of several car engines, dogs barking, kids laughing and the clink of plates from a restaurant halfway down the block.

"_Sorry, sorry! I should've warned you about that!_" the young sorceress said hurriedly, sounding contrite, "_I just- Well, now you should be able to hear what they're saying!_"

Glaring at a rather demonic-looking Russian matryoshka doll in the window display hard enough to make it burst into flames, Artemis tried to direct her attention to the two people in the shop. It was surprisingly easy; perhaps the spell was simply made to be easier to direct than real powers, but Artemis had no time to ponder it as the voices of the Chaos Lord and the shopkeeper reached her.

"-look, I've already told you, I sold the damn thing months ago! If you need the name of the customer, I can look it up, but I'm telling you it's not here!" the clerk said hurriedly, his voice exasperated but still cautious as the Witch Boy stood looming over him, hands on his hips, almost like a stern parent lecturing their wayward child. Klarion's back was to Artemis, but she could see the rigidness of his shoulders, the tension in his arms as he more-than-likely glared at the man.

"Don't give me that bull, Kipling! I can sense the traces of magic in the shop; if the amulet had been gone that long, there'd be nothing here! Now tell me where the thing is before I burn your skin off!" Klarion's voice, usually high and amused, shocked Artemis with its colder, furious tone; she'd never heard the immortal so serious or angry before. From the muffled thoughts of the Team, none of the others had heard him like that either.

Kipling pursed his lips, his face slowly whitening as he analyzed the pissed off Chaos Lord in front of him. "That amulet," he started, clenching his fists at his side, "That place… condemning a person there…. That's too cruel, even for you. Nobody can ever come back once you use that thing on them. Giving that power to _you _of all people- I'd _rather _be tortured – killed, even – than hand it over to a person like-"

"Whoever said I'd only torture _you_?" Klarion interrupted, his tone becoming mocking, his words sending a cold chill creeping down Artemis's spine and making Kipling's face pale as a ghost, "Do you think I'd let you have _all _the fun? I'm sure there're others in this town you care about; you wouldn't want me to leave them out, would you? I'm sure they'd enjoy my brand of torture as you would, and I'd be too happy to give it to them if you don't give me the stupid amulet! So hand it over, you scaredy cat, before I get _really _mad!"

By the end of his rant the Witch Boy had grown slightly taller in appearance, his horns growing larger as a violently blood red aura surrounded his body. Artemis drew back a step, feeling faint for the first time in a while; it looked like Kipling was barely avoiding pissing himself at the sight of the enraged demonic being.

Kipling, sweat dripping down his face and fear clearly evident in his eyes, swallowed tremulously. "If….. if I give it to you, will you leave this city alone?" he asked, hands clenching into fists at his sides even as he said it.

Artemis couldn't exactly fault him for agreeing; she couldn't see Klarion's face, but if his body language was anything to go by, menacing was a severe understatement.

The scarlet aura disappeared abruptly, making Artemis jump, as Klarion's now-chipper voice said, "Sure Kipling, old buddy, old pal! Just give me what I want, and I'll leave the town alone!"

The immortal walked over to the man, who flinched violently, but Klarion didn't allow him to escape; instead, he looped an arm around Kipling's shoulders, keeping him anchored to the spot. "Now then, if you would be so kind as to show me where it is?" he asked, mouth twisted into a cruel little smile that made Artemis lightheaded and nauseous. His eyes weren't red, but they held enough malice in them to give the Joker a run for his money.

Realizing with a start that Klarion would now be able to see her quite clearly if he chose to look towards the window, the blonde archer quickly backed away and walked down the sidewalk, distantly hearing Zatanna deactivate her spell while appearing to be perusing the surrounding shops, in reality discussing strategy with the Team.

"_…. What the _hell _was that back there?!_" demanded Wally, who, along with the rest of the Team had been listening to the entire conversation alongside Artemis.

'_No clue, but it certainly didn't sound good,_' Artemis thought, grimacing and stamping down the urge to shiver at the memory of the immortal surrounded by red, hellish light. Not exactly something she wanted to think about right now.

"_Zatanna, any clue what it is Klarion is after?_" Kaldur asked, quickly swooping in before things could get out of hand.

The young sorceress was silent for a long moment – you could almost _hear_ the concentration emanating from her brain. In the meantime, Artemis busied herself in finding a suitable alleyway out of the street view where she could take off her disguise to reveal her uniform underneath if need be.

"_I think I might know what he was talking about,_" Zatanna said finally, a hint of hesitation plaguing her tone, "_And if I'm right, we have to stop him. It doesn't matter how; beat him to a pulp ourselves – which isn't likely, let's face it – or calling in the League, we just need to make sure to keep him away from the amulet he wants so badly._"

"_What does this amulet do?_" asked M'gann, but Zatanna's reply was interrupted swiftly.

"_No time for that; Witch Boy is leaving the premises, and he has a suspicious package that definitely does _not _look like a gift for his girlfriend!"_ Robin snapped, sounding urgent.

Wally snickered. "_Are you entirely sure he'd be buying something for a _girl_friend?_"

"_Kid, cut it out! M'gann, bring the Bio-ship around but keep it in camo-mode; we might need a quick escape. Robin, contact Batman and let him in on the situation. Try and see if Doctor Fate knows anything about this amulet. Zatanna, Artemis, suit up. We will follow him, try to drive him out of the town before he does anything. Understood?_" their no-nonsense leader asked rapidly, sounding all too much like a natural in his element.

"_Right!_" came the resounding answer to his question.

Artemis quickly shifted into battle mode, sliding her disguise off and slipping her green mask on as she pulled her crossbow and the steel bolts into the holster on her leg. She ran back toward the street she had just abandoned, prepared to hear screams or explosions at any second.

When she skidded to a stop just in time to avoid bursting onto the road in full costume and full view of the world, Artemis was shocked to discover that everything was silent. The people, who had been out running errands and driving by, the kids playing on the sidewalks, were all gone, having disappeared inside the buildings around them.

It took less than a second to figure out why they had retreated; Klarion stood in the middle of the street, more or less _skipping _down the center of the road with a maniacally happy expression on his face and a rather expensive looking necklace in one hand, waving his free arm toward a parked car and making it implode into a mess of twisted metal and glass, the noise almost deafening the archer.

Artemis quickly ducked behind the alley wall, pulling out and holding her crossbow at the ready, prepared to lunge forward once she knew she had back-up; she was well aware that she stood no chance against the immortal alone.

"Teekl!" Klarion called gleefully, making Artemis start as she remembered the strange familiar wasn't with him, which soon became untrue as the black and orange cat popped into view out of nowhere, literally stepping into existence as if he'd been there all along – he could've been, but the blonde couldn't be sure – and purred up at his master, tail swishing back and forth in a strangely delighted manner as he rubbed against Klarion's legs loyally.

The Witch Boy stooped, careful to keep the bejeweled necklace he clasped in one hand from hitting the ground as he scooped the magical cat into his arms, straightening up looking triumphant. "Look at what I found Teekl!" he said eagerly, holding the bauble up so that it glittered almost hypnotically in the sunlight. Teekl meowed appreciatively at the sight, looking pleased.

Artemis couldn't help but stare at it, her brow wrinkling in distaste and her lips pursing to keep from gagging as she studied its design from far away. It was _hideous_ – it looked to be made mostly out of obsidian, formed into a circle of black with tentacle-like appendages stretching out from the center and a large distorted emerald smack in the middle of the twisted glass, staring out at the world as if it were one huge eye.

"And the others said there were no more left!" Klarion said, his tone quickly becoming mocking as he gazed at the green jewel at the center in particular, "Guess we showed them, huh?"

He sent a superior look at his cat, and Teekl purred, rubbing his cheek against his master's chin.

Klarion smirked wider than ever, holding the amulet in front of his face for a short moment before continuing, "Anyway, why don't we take this baby for a test drive? We could use it on Kipling; he certainly deserves a punishment for hiding it, doesn't he?" Teekl nodded approvingly; then paused, raising his head with his ears twisted around at different angles.

Klarion paused as well, and Artemis held her breath as a sinister grin played across his features, making him look more like his true demonic self. "Or, we could use it on the little _Justice Brats_ who have been following us around; how does that sound?"

Artemis didn't get a chance to run or cry out; instead of waiting for an answer from his beloved familiar, Klarion spun toward the alleyway she'd been hiding in and waved an arm, sending the archer flying. There was a second of weightlessness that felt disturbingly familiar before her body crashed into the ground with a dull thud, her crossbow flying from her hands as pain lanced through her ribs.

Artemis grunted on the unexpected impact, just barely biting off a shriek of surprise and desperately hoping her ribs weren't broken already as she tried to open her eyes and find her crossbow; but the first thing she saw upon forcing her eyes open was a pair of dark black shoes way too close to her face for comfort, and she jerked as she realized Klarion was standing above her, looking like the cat who caught the canary (pun intended).

"Aw, it's only Archer Girl!" Klarion said, his superior tone taking a note of slight discouragement as Artemis tried to scramble away hurriedly, pressing a hand to her ribs in pain. "Why couldn't you be one of the _useful _brats? Sending them off would actually cause some problems for the League; getting rid of you'd probably only piss off Green Arrow at best!"

"Shut up!" Artemis snapped. In her haste to get away her hand brushed her fallen crossbow, and she managed to get a grip on it, whipping it around so that she held it in front of her, pointing it straight at the immortal and firing before she could think of hitting him in a non-vital area.

The bolt would have nailed the Witch Boy right in between the eyes, but in a blur of motion far too fast for any mortal eye to see, he'd caught it with his free hand, which had let go of Teekl in the process. The cat wasn't bothered; he simply appeared on Klarion's shoulder, like he'd been there the whole time, staring down at the green-clad archer as if she were a mouse, and he was getting hungry.

"Was that actually aimed to _kill _me?" Klarion asked, voice rising from derogatory to mock disbelief in a second. Artemis scrambled to grab another bolt from her leg holster, but with a wave of his hand Klarion sent her crossbow flying, ripped from her grasp by a force far more powerful than her. Shaking slightly, the blonde tried to shift backwards, but the immortal sorcerer merely followed her retreat, a wide smirk on his lips.

"For shame, Archer Girl!" he lectured, sounding very disappointed indeed, "Heroes aren't supposed to kill people – not even the bad guys! Didn't you know that? Then again," his tone turned sly, his smirk becoming crueler and meaner as he continued, "You're not really a _real _hero, are you? You're just the assassin's daughter who thinks she can prove herself a good guy when she _knows_ she'll never truly be one, am I right?"

Artemis bit her lip to stop her automatic response – usually involving much cursing and glaring – and clenched her fists at her sides. '_Do _not _let him get to you,_' she thought stubbornly, setting her jaw and glaring fiercely at the immortal, but denying him the outward emotional reaction he truly sought.

The Witch Boy's gleeful expression dropped, an irritated quirk of his eyebrows the only physical sign of his annoyance. Sighing rather dramatically, he gestured to her with one hand, casting a look at Teekl as if to ask 'see what I have to work with?!' Teekl got the message, hissing rather foully at the archer, but she refused to even look at the demonic cat.

Rolling his eyes and sighing again, Klarion shook his head ruefully. "It's a shame, really; you were the only one of the Brats that had real spunk, you know? It'll be a shame to get rid of you…." He paused, looking uncharacteristically reflective for a moment, before shrugging widely and continuing, "Then again, leaving you alive would just be stupid. See ya never, Archer Girl!"

He lifted his arm, the twisted, ugly pendant hanging in front of him ominously, and Artemis felt a terrible twist in her gut; the kind of deeply ingrained survival instinct that came from hundreds of near-deaths that only a girl trained from day one to be an assassin would have.

The fear became nauseatingly powerful, an inner voice Artemis hadn't even known existed screaming at her to _move_, to _run, _to _get the hell __away__ from the immortal sorcerer._

But she couldn't, she was rooted to the spot, her legs seemingly giving out and remaining immobile no matter how much she willed them to move as the pendant started to glow, a sickly green light beginning to pulse from the eye-life jewel in the center.

For a single, hysteria-induced moment, Artemis was certain, more than anything, that she was about to die, right here, in the middle of a city she honestly couldn't remember the name of for no other reason that she was in Klarion's way. It was as humbling as it was terrifying. She had certainly done good in her life; saved people, stopped her villainous father, kept on the high road instead of slipping down to the low like her sister Jade, been a good, supportive daughter when her mother's disability seemed impossible to live with… She'd been a hero. But she wasn't as immortal and untouchable as she sometimes liked to think she was. And that was a fact she was all too aware of as the green light began to expand, bathing the entire area with its sinister radiance.

There was a sudden burst of movement behind Klarion, and Artemis hardly dared to believe it as her three teammates – Kaldur, Robin, and Zatanna, the trio she had come down with – came into view, clearly ready to attack the Witch Boy with everything they had. For a millisecond Artemis felt so relieved she was angry – what the _hell _had taken them so long?! – before the two boys were charging, batarangs flying with deadly precision and water cannons firing.

Zatanna was screaming something incoherent, a blast of magic more powerful than Artemis thought the girl capable of zooming forward to hit the immortal. Klarion was barely fazed at these attacks, his face twisting into an annoyed scowl as he lifted his free hand to create a glittering red barrier that stopped all three different weapons in midair. "_Really?_ That's all you got?" he asked blankly. He was clearly not impressed with their efforts.

Kaldur surged forward, water bearers already formed into hammers while Robin flipped after him immediately, escrima sticks in hand and ready to hit him like a battering ram. Zatanna hung back, chanting something in her weird backwards-speak in another attempt at a spell, but her magical skill was nowhere near the elder sorcerer's.

Klarion batted the attacking duo away with a wave of magic, boredom clear on his face. "_Yawn_. Man, you guys are usually so much more entertaining! This is just pitiful!" he complained bitterly, sweeping aside Zatanna's attempt to hit him with a different spell with a dejected sigh.

While this was going on, Artemis attempted to get up like she'd been ordering herself to do for a while now, but her legs still refused to cooperate. Whether from shock or some paralysis enchantment from the immortal, she couldn't be sure. Determined not to be a liability and desperate not to get caught, she rolled her body over, fully intent on army-crawling away to find some refuge behind a parked car or something-

A particularly powerful blast of magic halted her progress once again, making her turn her attention back just in time to see Kaldur flying through the air to slam into Zatanna, knocking the young sorceress off her feet and causing the two of them to crumple into a heap. Evidently, the Atlantean had gotten close to striking Teekl on Klarion's shoulder, and the Witch Boy did not take it well.

Robin, who had somehow with his ninja mini-Batman skills managed to get behind the immortal, was flung over Klarion's shoulder as if he'd been judo flipped and found a nice, soft impact site right on top of the retreating archer.

The smaller boy wasn't that heavy, but the force behind the throw and the trajectory of his fall caused him to hit Artemis – hard – in the small of her back, his elbow narrowly missing the back of her neck as his head just missed hitting the ground at an unsavory angle. Artemis grunted loudly at the impact to her already battered body – her ribs felt bruised at the very least by this point – and the Boy Wonder almost immediately rolled off of her, his emotionless battle mask breaking for just a moment as he shot her a glance, half-apologetic for hitting her, half-irate at being tossed in the first place. "You alright?" he asked swiftly, and Artemis couldn't help but feel impressed; the landing certainly didn't feel good for him either, but he was already asking about her injuries instead.

It was one of the things she liked about him.

"Oooh!" Klarion exclaimed, reclaiming their attention just as the pendant began to flash, the green light brighter than ever – even brighter than Green Lantern's power ring, and that was saying something. Robin started to move, drawing batarangs from his belt but almost instantly freezing place when the immortal waved a hand at them, and Artemis felt all of her joints and muscles lock up, suddenly unable to move an inch. "Archer Girl _and_ Bird Boy! Now _that_ I can work with! The League'll be crippled if Batman falls without his beloved protégé!"

That…. Did not sound good for Robin. For either of them, actually.

Artemis tried to move, to blink, _anything, _her voice rising – in a scream of warning or a plea for help, it was impossible to tell which at this point – but remaining unheard through her locked jaw. Robin's body was shaking with sheer exertion, sweat rolling down his face at the effort he was making to move.

But it was all in vain.

A small portion of Artemis' mind was asking where the hell the rest of the Team was, of if they were even trying to save them; at this point, it didn't really seem to matter.

The gem pulsed green light like a heartbeat, growing stronger and faster every second. A truly sinister smirk spread across Klarion's face, the malice and pure and utter _glee _overtaking his features truly frightening.

"_**Htaed rieht ot seimene ym dnes dna, em rof nepo; noivilbo fo etag ho, em rof nepo!**_" Klarion chanted, softly, chillingly, his voice like a lilting song. For once, he didn't sound annoying or terrifying or even happy; he simply sounded like a young child asking for permission to get a toy from the toy store, or a cookie from the cookie jar – demanding, like so many young children are, but still asking.

There was a beat of silence, of nothing, before a tidal wave of black rose over Artemis' senses and she sank into unconsciousness.

**YJ~S**

Meanwhile, a dimension or two over from theirs, under a sky eternally littered with stars and strings of color, ranging from deep violet to light blue, three people – if they could be called that – stood overlooking a large pool, shaped in a perfect circle to reflect the starlight like a giant mirror. The trio – one man, two women – gazed downward as if awaiting something, remaining unblinking for several long moments.

A ripple slowly spread from the center of the formerly still oval of water, creating a perfect ring of moving water.

"It has begun," the man said softly, golden eyes flicking up to see the two women beside him nod heavily in agreement.

"That rift wouldn't have held him forever; we knew this day was coming from the moment those mortals used the Scroll," the older woman sighed wearily, raising one perfectly-manicured hand to brush brunette hair out of her face.

Pausing for a moment, the brunette allowed a sly grin onto her features, turning to eye the younger woman with an air of satisfaction. "Still, this situation would be much worse had it not been for your 'magical pendant' idea. The champions never would have come to our world without the help of that accursed Witch Boy you hired, Andraste."

The younger woman, Andraste, whose hair was such a pale blonde it was almost white, frowned slightly at the brunette's words. "I didn't hire him, you know. And I did not make that pendant; Hermaeus Mora created it. I simply made my own necklace to counter it and give them a way back once they complete their mission. You know that Mara," she corrected, sounding slightly affronted.

"That's enough, ladies. Andraste, is your daughter aware of the current situation?" the man asked, quick to break up any sort of squabble before it began.

Mara rolled her eyes at her husband, but Andraste merely shrugged. "Not currently, though I imagine she'll notice the change in the air soon enough. She's close enough to help them if need be, but you know as well as I do that those two need to find their own way. If they are to survive and defeat the World-Eater, then they cannot simply hold someone's hand and ask for help every step of the way; they must learn to move throughout our world on their own."

"Obviously, no one was suggesting they were weak!" Mara cut in, shooting the slightly shorter woman a fierce look. "They can handle themselves just fine once they arrive! They simply need someone to tell them what is happening to them!"

Andraste raised one thin eyebrow at Mara, pursing her lips and shaking her head. "They aren't killers. Neither of them are. They won't last very long in our world if they do not learn to shed blood."

"True, Andraste, true. Do you have a plan that could help us with that situation?" asked the man.

Andraste's lips quirked upward in the slightest hints of a smirk. "I was thinking of leaving that particular detail to you, Lord Akatosh, since I've been handling most of the work for the past few months securing the plan to get them here in the first place, if you wouldn't mind."

Mara squawked indignantly, offended at her audacity on behalf of her husband, but Akatosh chuckled lowly, his voice deep and rich as he waved off Mara's protests. "I suppose I shall have to pull my own weight, then?" he asked rhetorically, gaining a smile from Andraste and a fiercely jealous scowl from Mara.

Akatosh walked to the water's edge, the two goddesses quick to follow as he strode forward, cracking his knuckles casually as he went.

Once on the edge of the pond, he stopped, tilting his head up contemplatively for a moment, before crouching and tapping a finger on the water, allowing another ripple to flow out across the surface, distorting the stars reflection on slightly.

"There," he said lightly, standing back to his full height and turning to face his wife and friend behind him, "That will have to do for now. It should definitely be an interesting show from here on out."

**YJ~S**

**A/N: Over 5,000 words long and I'm still not satisfied with it. Oh well. My friends and beta-reader said it was OK, but I suppose that's up to you, huh? So how'd you like the remixed beginning? Is it better than the first version, or does it need more work? Feel free to tell me in a review!**

**P.S. Andraste is not one of the Nine Divines; she's actually a prophetess chick from Dragon Age who was the wife of the Maker and founder of the Chantry's religion. She's technically an OC of mine named after the character, but whatever. I hope you like her, because she's going to be kind of important later on.**

**P.P.S. The cover for this fic was done by Longshot-L on DeviantArt.**

**Please REVIEW!  
****~Persephone**


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